Authorities say Brick's weekend was safer this year

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. ­— Despite some ATV crashes over the weekend, owners of Brick’s and local officials said they believe the off-road park’s largest annual event was safer this year.

In a review of Missouri State Highway Patrol operations related to the event, there were no driving-while-intoxicated arrests or crashes, Sgt. Clark Parrott said.

“I think this was a pretty safe weekend,” he said. “I think it was exactly what we wanted: a lot of people and a safe weekend.”

The patrol conducted saturation patrols to check for hazardous moving violations and intoxicated drivers. Troopers made four felony drug arrests and issued 183 warnings and 77 traffic-related tickets for violations such as speeding and no seat belt, Parrott said.

Comparing this year’s numbers to the past two years shows the event is moving in the right direction, he said. Underage drinkers were found at last year’s event, when arrests for driving while intoxicated also were made.

Customers appreciated the work that has been done to make the park more accessible and safer, co-owner Scott Brickell said. The park wants to tweak its operations to make improvements, he said.

Since two serious wrecks last year, Brick’s has a stronger security presence. Changes also were made to roads inside and approaching the park to reduce congestion.

“It just set the tone. This is not a place where you’re going to come and have a free-for-all,” Brickell said.

Air Evac was called to the property twice during the weekend Trucks Gone Wild event, as well as calls for first aid, Brickell said. None of the accidents was life-threatening, he said.

Two people with broken bones were transported by helicopter, he said, adding neither accident occurred during a scheduled event. One accident involved a driver whose brakes failed while going downhill on an ATV, Brickell said. He did not have information about the second accident.

Brick’s also added trash collection and oil booms at low-water crossings to address concerns of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources about runoff from vehicles and the public’s use of Beaver Dam Creek.

The park plans to continue to pave and widen these crossings, Brickell said. Progress before the 2016 event was hampered because heavy rains in May kept the water too high to finish paving, he said.

The Department of Natural Resources collected samples from five locations during the weekend event, said Tom Bastian, the department’s director of communications. Some turbidity was observed in Beaver Creek and entering the confluence of the Little Black River and Beaver Creek, he said. The samples are being tested now.

Visitors to the event said the improvements of the past year have made a difference.

Samantha Porch and her family have been attending events there for about a decade and volunteered time to help build the park.

“I think it’s been a huge improvement,” said Porch of Poplar Bluff.